SignumClassics

SignumClassics PHILHARMONIA ORCHESTRA 2 CDs

SignumClassics THE PHILHARMONIA ORCHESTRA SIGCD132 SIGCD133 BRAHMS BRAHMS SIR

SIR CHARLES MACKERRAS SCHUBERT SHOSTAKOVICH SCHUBERT SYMPHONY No.9 CHRISTOPH VON DOHNÁNYI SYMPHONY No.9

SignumClassics THE PHILHARMONIA ORCHESTRA SIGCD135 BRAHMS VLADIMIRB RAHMSASHKENAZY CHRISTOPH VON DOHNÁNYI

SHOSTAKOVICH VLADIMIR ASHKENAZY BRAHMS SCHUBERT FESTIVE OVERTURE SCHUBERT SHOSTAKOVICH SYMPHONY No.2 & SYMPHONY No.4 SYMPHONY No.5 FESTIVE OVERTURE SYMPHONY No.5 BRAHMS SYMPHONY No.2 & SYMPHONY No.4 www.signumrecords.com www.philharmonia.co.uk

Available through record stores and at www.signumrecords.com For more information call +44 (0) 20 8997 4000

SignumClassics PHILHARMONIA ORCHESTRA

SIGCD132 SIGCD133CHRISTOPH VON DOHNÁNYI BRAHMS SIR CHARLES MACKERRASSYMPHONY No.2 & SYMPHONY No.4

SIGCD135 VLADIMIR ASHKENAZY VLADIMIR ASHKENAZY SIR CHARLES MACKERRAS SHOSTAKOVICH SCHUFESTIVE OVERTUREBERT SYMPHONY No.9SYMPHONY No.5 SCHUBERT SYMPHONY No.9 www.signumrecords.com www.philharmonia.co.uk Available through record stores and at www.signumrecords.com For more information call +44 (0) 20 8997 4000 SHOSTAKOVICH FESTIVE OVERTURE www.signumrecords.com www.philharmonia.co.uk SYMPHONY No.5 Available through record stores and at www.signumrecords.com For more information call +44 (0) 20 8997 4000 FESTIVE OVERTURE SHOSTAKOVICH SHOSTAKOVICH SYMPHONY No.5 FESTIVE OVERTURE • SYMPHONY No.5 Shostakovich and composers paid dearly in the process. Festive Overture & Symphony No.5 One of the major buzzwords of the time was ‘formalism’, which was essentially a charge (1906-1975) against a work that was not considered Nobody in the was immune to appeal directly to the masses. On this  Festive Overture 5.50 to Stalin’s in the years matter, Shostakovich was adjudged to Symphony No.5 immediately preceding the Second World have failed his country and comrades by War. Neither the poorest citizen-comrade producing works lacking in  Moderato 14.59 nor the highest ranking party officials could – a serious breach of the party line. escape Stalin’s clunking fist as he sought  Allegretto 5.28 to consolidate power by ‘cleansing’ the As a 27-year-old, in 1934, Shostakovich  Largo 13.31 Communist Party, and the country at large, had a runaway, worldwide success with of so-called dissidents, undesirable anti- his , Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk  Allegro non troppo 10.22 revolutionaries and other ‘enemies of the District, which was regarded as a high-water people’. Ethnic minorities were deported, mark in Soviet opera and was praised by peasants and professionals and party the authorities as, ‘the result of the general Total timings 50.13 apparatchiks too far to the left or too far to success of socialist construction’. In 1936, the right were imprisoned and killed on the with the arts now under centralized control flimsiest of evidence or the cruel expedient under the All-Union Committee on Artistic of the forced confession. Many hundreds Affairs, the tide was turning against any PHILHARMONIA ORCHESTRA of thousands were killed and millions more composers with ‘formalist’ tendencies. consigned to labour camps. The arts were Stalin attended a performance of Lady VLADIMIR ASHKENAZY CONDUCTOR under intense scrutiny for any perceived Macbeth in January of that year and was www.signumrecords.com modernism and a good many writers, artists offended by the forthrightness of the subject

2 3 matter and Shostakovich’s advanced Shostakovich had been working on his Few works have created such disagreement composer and his audience. His influence, musical language. Two days later, the colossal, modernist Fourth Symphony for among writers and critics as this offspring commissions and, hence, income had all now notorious editorial appeared some time, but it no longer suited the mood of a marriage between music and politics. declined rapidly during the previous 18 describing Lady Macbeth under the headline of the times and he was forced to withdraw It has spawned a plethora of interpretations months and many assumed his career ‘’ as a ‘discordant, it during rehearsals, in December 1936. of the composer’s intentions and given depended on a successful outcome. The confused stream of sounds…the music Neither the Fourth Symphony nor Lady rise to disparate warring factions among young, then unknown, Evgeny Mravinsky cracks, grunts and growls’. A few days later, Macbeth would be heard again for some musicologists. Was Shostakovich conducted the Leningrad Philharmonic in his ballet, , which was 25 years. The golden boy of Soviet music deliberately cocking an encoded snook at the Symphony No.5 in D minor Op.47 and in the repertory of the at the had become a degenerate corrupter. his critics? Was he privately lampooning brought the house down. The triumph was time, fared no better under the banner, the Communist Party? Was the work a immediate and the applause tumultuously ‘Balletic Falsehood’. Although now seen Just seven months after the mothballing conscious decision to re-align with the greeted Shostakovich’s rehabilitation as as preposterous and philistine, at the time of the Fourth Symphony, Shostakovich symphonic mainstream? Did Shostakovich a truly great Soviet artist. Even the critics these were unprecedented articles. Pravda, introduced his Fifth as the ‘creative reply intentionally adopt the role of a holy fool in were eventually effusive in their praise, the official organ of Soviet Communism, of a Soviet artist to justified criticism’ – a his engagement with the Soviet authorities? affirming that the young composer was disapproved in language verging upon shocking, awkward phrase which turns Is there a ‘menace-theme’ in the symphony coming back into the party fold: ‘A work of the violent; the ‘cheap clowning’ of Lady sour in the mouths of many commentators. that spells out, musically, in two notes, ‘Sta such philosophical depth and emotional Macbeth being chillingly described as ‘a These were dangerous, suspicion-soaked - lin’? Revisionist and counter-revisionist force could only be created here in the game of clever ingenuity that may end very times in which friends and protectors theories abound and will doubtless USSR’. Following the excitement occasioned badly.’ The party had spoken - this music was of the composer were arrested and continue as more information from this by works such as the First Symphony and not to be imitated and the works in question even summarily tried and executed. dark time comes to light. One thing is for Lady Macbeth, composers abroad were disappeared from the repertory forthwith. The composer’s own description of the certain: whether the symphony represents rather muted in their praise for the work. symphony displays a similar awkwardness: Shostakovich cow-towing to totalitarianism In the climate of thrusting, modernist Although the ramifications of the editorials or not, its position as one of the 20th Western Europe of the time, the symphony The theme of my Fifth Symphony is the were not immediately clear, the aftershocks Century’s most popular and successful seemed a step backwards to some, making of a man. I saw man with all his rippled rapidly through Soviet culture. experiences in the centre of the composition, symphonic works is beyond any doubt. although audiences soon embraced the With Stalin gearing up for the first of the which is lyrical in form from beginning work wholeheartedly. More importantly, infamous Moscow show trials later in the to end. In the finale, the tragically tense The public première of the work, on in the USSR, it had saved Shostakovich’s year, and the Great Purge hot on their impulses of the earlier movements are 21 November 1937, was naturally an career, at very least, and for the present, heels, everyone had to watch their step. resolved in optimism and joy of living. extraordinarily tense occasion for the the golden boy was shining once again.

4 5 After a second period of fresh charges of record breaking time in response to a last- Symphony Orchestra (from January 2009), Conductor), San Francisco Symphony ‘formalism’ in 1948, Shostakovich was minute request from the the latter including a number of exciting and Deutsches Symphonie Orchester again cast into the wilderness until a which required a celebratory piece for projects including composer festivals Berlin (Chief Conductor and Music relaxation of the artistic manacles followed the 37th Anniversary of the 1917 October and international touring activities. Director 1988-96), as well as making the death of Stalin in 1953. By late 1954, Revolution. Dashed off in just three guest appearances with many other Shostakovich’s yo-yoing career was back days, and seemingly based on Glinka’s Alongside these positions, Ashkenazy has major orchestras around the world. in the ascendant after being awarded Ruslan and Ludmilla Overture, this is a had a longstanding relationship with the While takes up a significant the title of People’s Artist of the USSR little rip-roaring, fire-cracker which barely Philharmonia Orchestra of which he was portion of his time each season, Ashkenazy and elected an honorary member of the draws a breath from beginning to end. appointed Conductor Laureate in 2000. continues to devote himself to the , Swedish Royal Academy of Music. The Its utterly upbeat nature and lack of any In addition to his performances with the continuing to build his extraordinarily Festive Overture Op.96 was written during solemn ideological baggage has assured orchestra in and around the UK comprehensive recording catalogue these less harrowing days and reflects that a work written to commemorate the each season, he has toured with them with releases such as the 1999 Grammy a lighter side of Shostakovich’s musical Bolshevik Revolution now enjoys outings worldwide and developed landmark projects award-winning Shostakovich Preludes personality. The overture was written in at fireworks spectaculars the world over. such as ‘Prokofiev and Shostakovich Under and Fugues, Rautavaara’s Piano Stalin’ in 2003 (a project which he also No.3 (a work which he commissioned), took to Cologne, New York, Vienna and Rachmaninov Transcriptions, and recordings Moscow) and ‘Rachmaninoff Revisited’ in of that most challenging and enriching of BIOGRAPHIES 2002 at the Lincoln Center, New York. works, Bach's Wohltemperierte Klavier and Beethoven’s . VLADIMIR ASHKENAZY Ashkenazy also holds the positions of Music Director of the European Union Beyond his hectic and fulfilling performing In the years since Vladimir Ashkenazy first inspiration to music-lovers across the world. Youth Orchestra, with whom he tours schedule, Ashkenazy has been involved came to prominence on the world stage in Conducting has formed the largest part of each year, and Conductor Laureate of in some fascinating TV projects, often the 1955 Chopin Competition in Warsaw he his activities for the past 20 years, and he the Symphony Orchestra. He inspired by his passionate drive to ensure has built an extraordinary career, not only has held the positions of Chief Conductor maintains strong links with a number of that serious music continues to have a as one of the most renowned and revered of the (1998 to 2003), other major orchestras with whom he platform in the mainstream media and is pianists of our times, but as an artist Music Director of NHK Symphony Orchestra has built special relationships over the made available to as broad an audience whose creative life encompasses a vast in Tokyo (2004 to 2007) and Principal years, including the as possible. Many will remember his range of activities and continues to offer Conductor and Artistic Advisor to the Sydney (of whom he was formerly Principal Guest programmes with the outstanding director

6 7 , including in 1979 recently he has developed educational Centre, and now also includes De Montfort with the finest musicians of our day, Music After Mao, filmed in Shanghai, and programmes with NHK TV including the Hall in Leicester, the Anvil in Basingstoke supporting new as well as established the extraordinary Ashkenazy in Moscow 1999 Superteachers working with inner-city and a series of partnerships across artists. This policy extends into the Orchestra programmes which marked his first visit London school children, and in 2003-4 a Kent and the Thames Gateway, based in itself, where many of the players have solo in 1989 to the country of his birth since documentary based around his ‘Prokofiev Canterbury. The Orchestra’s international or chamber music careers as well as their leaving the USSR in the 1960s. More and Shostakovich Under Stalin’ project. extensive touring schedule each season work with the Orchestra. The Philharmonia’s involves appearances at the finest concert Martin Musical Scholarship Fund has for halls across Europe, the USA and Asia. many years supported talented musicians at the start of their careers and a new During its first six decades, the Orchestral Award, inaugurated in 2005, Philharmonia Orchestra has collaborated allows two young players every year to gain with most of the great classical artists of performing experience within the Orchestra. the 20th century. Conductors associated with the Orchestra include Furtwängler, The Orchestra is also recognised for its The Philharmonia Orchestra is one of the claim of any orchestra to be the UK’s , Toscanini, Cantelli, innovative programming policy, at the heart world’s great orchestras. Acknowledged National Orchestra. It is committed to Karajan and Giulini. was of which is a commitment to performing as the UK’s foremost musical pioneer, presenting the same quality, live music- the first of many outstanding Principal and commissioning new works by leading with an extraordinary recording legacy, making in venues throughout the country Conductors, and other great names have composers, among them the Artistic the Philharmonia leads the field for its as it brings to London and the great included Lorin Maazel (Associate Principal Director of its Music of Today series, Julian quality of playing, and for its innovative concert halls of the world. Every year Conductor), (Principal Anderson. Since 1945 the Philharmonia approach to audience development, the Orchestra performs more than 200 Conductor and Music Director) and Orchestra has commissioned more than residencies, music education and the use concerts, as well as presenting chamber Giuseppe Sinopoli (Music Director). As 100 new works from composers including of new technologies in reaching a global performances by the Soloists of the well as Esa-Pekka Salonen, current titled Sir Harrison Birtwistle, Sir Peter Maxwell audience. Together with its relationships Philharmonia Orchestra, and recording conductors are Christoph von Dohnányi Davies, Mark-Anthony Turnage and James with the world’s most sought-after scores for films, CDs and computer games. (Honorary Conductor for Life), Sir Charles MacMillan. The Philharmonia Orchestra’s artists, most importantly its Principal Since 1995 the Orchestra’s work has been Mackerras (Principal Guest Conductor), joint series with SBC, Clocks and Clouds: Conductor and Artistic Advisor Esa-Pekka underpinned by its much admired UK Kurt Sanderling (Conductor Emeritus) and The Music of György Ligeti, won the Royal Salonen, the Philharmonia Orchestra Residency Programme, which began with Vladimir Ashkenazy (Conductor Laureate). Philharmonic Society’s Best Concert Series is at the heart of British musical life. the launch of its residencies at the Bedford The Philharmonia Orchestra continues to Award in 1997 and Related Rocks: The Music Today, the Philharmonia has the greatest Corn Exchange and London’s Southbank pride itself on its long-term collaborations of Magnus Lindberg, was nominated for

8 9 first experience of classical music through both the first ever fully interactive webcast a Philharmonia recording, and now and the first podcast by a UK orchestra. audiences can engage with the Orchestra In September 2005 computer games through webcasts, podcasts, downloads, with Philharmonia scores were at No.1 computer games and film scores as well and No.2 in the national charts, while the as through its unique interactive music Orchestra’s scores for the last two Harry education website launched in 2005, Potter computer games have both been The Sound Exchange (www.philharmonia. nominated for BAFTA Awards. Recording co.uk/thesoundexchange), which is now and live broadcasting both also continue visited by almost 2 million people a year. to play a significant part in the Orchestra’s In 2005 the Philharmonia became the first activities: since 2003 the Philharmonia has ever classical music organisation to be enjoyed a major partnership with Classic FM, shortlisted for a BT Digital Music Award, and as The Classic FM Orchestra on Tour, as well in the same year the Orchestra presented as continuing to broadcast on BBC Radio 3.

Recorded live at Suntory Hall, Tokyo, Japan, 27 July 2001 Produced, engineered and edited by Tomoyoshi Ezaki

Photo credit - Richard Haughton Design - Richard Slaney (for the Philharmonia Orchestra) and Andrew Giles an RPS Award. Other recent awards for the of Art, won the RPS Education Award. Orchestra include the RPS Large Ensemble www.signumrecords.com www.philharmonia.co.uk Award and two Evening Standard Awards Throughout its history, the Philharmonia for Outstanding Artistic Achievement and Orchestra has been committed to finding new ® 2008 The copyright in this recording is owned by Philharmonia Orchestra © 2008 The copyright in this CD booklet, notes and design is owned by Signum Records Ltd. Outstanding Ensemble. In May 2007 PLAY. ways to bring its top quality live performance Any unauthorised broadcasting, public performance, copying or re-recording of Signum Compact Discs constitutes an infringement of copyright and will render the infringer liable to an action by law. orchestra, a 'virtual Philharmonia Orchestra' to audiences worldwide, and to using new Licenses for public performances or broadcasting may be obtained from Phonographic Performance Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this booklet may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, created in partnership with Southbank technologies to achieve this. Many millions or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission from Signum Records Ltd. Centre and Central St Martin’s College of people since 1945 have enjoyed their SignumClassics, Signum Records Ltd., Suite 14, 21 Wadsworth Road, Perivale, Middx UB6 7JD, UK. +44 (0) 20 8997 4000 E-mail: [email protected]

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